Electric sign



June l, 1937. J, SEGAL 2,082,523

ELECTRIC SIGN Filed April l0, 1936 ATTORN EY Patented `une 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRIC SIGN Application April 10,

7 Claims.

This invention relates to the construction of electric signs.

Display signs, especially of the neon type, have customarily comprised flat metal boxes on the front of Which the neon tubing is exposed. Such signs frequently include several fragile or loose parts and are readily damaged by vibration, heavy jarring and rough handling; and even if not subject to such abuse require expensive ser- 10 vicing and cleaning when exposed tothe weather. The improved construction in accordance with the present invention provides a sign having a minimum number of parts each of which is solid and durable of itself. These parts are rigidly secured'to each other, and may be enclosed as a unit in a weatherproof casing having a transparent front. The invention makes possible securing the parts together in such manner that no bolts, nuts or mounting means are visible from the front of the sign. This construction results in a sturdy and weatherproof structure having a uniquely clean and attractive appearance.

Although the present invention provides a sign adaptable to many uses, it is particularly adapted for use on automobile trucks and the like because it includes no loose parts and is a rigid, solid unit presenting smooth exterior surfaces which may be readily washed.

Further in accordance with the invention, an appropriate power supply device may be secured to the sign to provide a completely self-contained electric sign unit, which, if desired, may therefore be portable.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be explained hereinafter in connection with the drawing in which:

Fig. 1 shows an automobile truck on the cab of which is mounted a sign in accordance with this 40 invention;

Fig. 2 isa front view of the back board of the sign of Figi. 1;

Fig. 3 is a front view of the stencil board which is secured to the face of the back board of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the stencil board taken through 4-4 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the assembled sign, showing also cross-sections through 5--5 of Figs. 2 and 3.

In Fig. 1 a sign constructed in accordance with the present invention is shown mounted on the cab of an automobile truck. The novel construction of the sign itself comprises fundamentally two board-like structures, a back board 55 and a stencil board. The back board I, shown in 1936, serial No. 73,653y

(ci. 1o-13o) Fig. 2, is the main support for all of the elements of the sign. Upon theback board l the illuminating means 2 is rigidly secured. In the illustrated example the illuminating means consists of neonfilled glass tubing bent to form the word Sign. Whatever the desired display configuration may be, this tubing may be secured to the back board by means of ties 3, as is customary in the art. If the sign is to be subjected to heavy vibration or jarring the tubing may also be cemented to the back board with a suitable transparent cement; additionally the tubing may be partially imbedded in the back board.

In neon signs as usually'constructed, the portions of the tubing connecting the letters are blanked or blackened, as at 4, in order that the letters when illuminated may appear to be separate. As employed in accordance with the present invention this blanking out is not always required, because, asin the example shown, the stencil board is so cut as to blank out all the tubing except that forming the portions intended to be displayed.

The usual electrodes 5 are shown at each end of the vtubing (Fig. 2) and wires leading therefrom pass through the back board through holes 6 filled with pitch; or bushings of porcelain, rubber or other suitable material may be inserted in the holes. |These wires are understood to be connected to a source of electric current appropriate to illuminate the sign. If the source of current is direct, as derived from a battery, it should be converted to alternating or pulsating current and stepped up to the proper voltage. This may be done by any appropriate converter and transformer which may be supported Within a weatherproof casing secured to the rear of the back board, as shown in Fig. 5, or the casing may be secured at some desirable location remote from the sign. If the sign is mounted on a motor vehicle, the electric power may conveniently be taken from the usual storage battery or generator carried by such vehicles.

On the rear of the back board are indicated brackets 'l which may be employed to support the entire sign; and in Fig. l additional brackets are shown on the ends of the sign to secure the back board more firmly to the roof of the cab. A sign constructed in accordance with this invention is adapted, however, for mounting on any desired part of the vehicle including the body and chassis. .n

The necessary cross-overs and bend-backs resulting from the bending of the glass tubing to spell the desired name or form the desired coniiguration may, in practicing this invention, be on the top of the letters without detracting from the appearance of the sign. The reason for this will be more apparent upon consideration of the descriptions of Figs. 3 and 5, but it may here be mentioned that by forming the letters with the bottoms all in one plane, the tubing may be supported throughout its entire length against the surface of the back board, thus improving the rigidity and making the construction more sturdy. In prior constructions it has been necessary to form the letters with cross-overs and bend-backs on the bottom in order that the face presented to the observer might be in one plane. By virtue of the present invention the appearance is equally satisfactory with either method of bending and mounting.

A stencil board 8, as shown in Fig. 3 is cut to t on the back board and may be of the same material. Wood has been found to be a suitable material for both boards particularly if subjected to a freproong treatment; or an articially made board of brous or other suitable composition may be used. The material should, in any event, be such as is not damaged by vibration and jars, and preferably should not be easily bent, as is sheet metal. In quantity production either or both boards may be molded to avoid most of the machining otherwise required. The back board I should have reasonably good electrical insulating properties, whereas the same is not necessarily true of the material of the stencil board 8.

In the 4embodiment illustrated, the stencil board 8, shown in Fig. 3, may be assumed toI be of wood at least twice as thick as the diameter of the glass tubing 2 which, of course, may be of any suitable size. It may be noted, however, that many of the advantages of the invention reside in features other than the thickness of the stencil board. This stencil board may be cut on a jig-saw or band-saw to form the letters or other desired configuration composing the copy of the sign. In the illustration, the width of the stencil cuts is slightly greater than the outside diameter of the glass tubing, although in some instances it might be less. This width will bear a denite relation to many variables such as the other dimensions of the letters, the spacing between them, the thickness of the stencil board, the degree of illumination, and the color of the light which would depend on the gas content, so that this width cannot be prescribed.

If block letters are used', each illuminated letter must be separate from the others. To this end the stencil board is cut through to display only the desired portions of the tubing. Recesses or grooves on the back side of the stencil board are indicated by the dotted lines of Fig. 3 as at 9. These grooves are large enough to receive the undisplayed portions of the tubing, such as shown blackened at 4 in Fig. 2. 'Ihe enlarged end portions of the tubing which contain the electrodes 5, t into larger grooves shown at I0 in Figs. 3 and 4. When the stencil board 8 is placed upon the face of the back board I the displayed portions of the tubing will extend into the stencil cuts and the undisplayed portions of the tubing will be received by the recesses or grooves. At no point should the stencil board touch the tubing. If the tubing is imbedded in the face of the back board, as previously mentioned, the eiective thickness of the tubing will be that of the unimbedded part. Therefore, in the appended claims the references to thickness of the tubing should be construed to mean the thickness of the unimbedded part under such circumstances.

When the two boards are secured tightly together in the illustrated position, as by screws passing through the holes II in the back board, the sign proper will comprise one solid unit capable of withstanding much vibration and. jarring without injury. It will be plain that by thus securing all parts to the back board, assembly and repair is made easy and cheap, and likewise the appearance is improved because from the front of the sign no screws, bolts, brackets or other mounting means are visible. In order to increase the rigidity of the assembly it is sometimes advisable to mill or otherwise form upon the adjoining surfaces of the two boards complementary projections and recesses, pins and holes or the like.

The completely assembled sign, in accordance with my invention, is shown in Fig. 5 to comprise the two boards I and 8, a glass front I2 and a frame I3 preferably of metal which supports the glass in rubber gaskets I5. This frame preferably extends across the top, bottom and ends of the sign to enhance its appearance and to protect it from dirt and water. It is especially important that the frame or its equivalent should cover the joint I6 between the boards. Sometimes it is desirable to cover the rear of the back board with a metal sheathing so that all of the sign except the front is enclosed in metal. Secured to the rear of the back board I is shown a metal casing I4 in which the electric powerY supply device, such as a converter and transformer may be housed. To allow access t0 the interior of the casing, a watertight door I9 may be provided.

Because of its compact and rugged nature the sign of my construction is especially satisfactory for various portable and remote-service uses. For example, in accordance with the invention a battery may be included with the power supply device in the casing I4, making the sign and its electric power source entirely selfcontained and completely portable. Such portable, self-contained sign units find many uses in the art such as for temporary window displays, for travelling sales organizations, and for highway signs, particularly in connection with detours, construction projects and the like. Selfcontained signs of this type, including their own source of electric power, likewise nd many uses in remote-servicev locations where suitable electric current is not locally available. For such purposes the battery or other primary electric source may be larger than could be included in the casing I4, in which event the power supply device may be enclosed in a larger casing in the form of a cabinet or pedestal on or near the top of which the sign is mounted. In rural districts a storage battery may be automatically charged by a windmill-charger or other suitable form of electric generator erected either on the same structure or conveniently near it.

The converter above referred to may be of the rotary or dynamotor type, or preferably of the magnetic vibrator type, by which direct current is changed to alternating or to pulsating current suitable for voltage step-up through a transformer connected to the electrodes 5. I have found that when operated from a magnetic vibrator converter on direct current, the neon tubing is clearly visible with a lower degree of illumination than when operated from the usual 60 cycle alternating current.

It will be noted in Fig. that the stencil board 8 is shown to be thicker than the back board I. In a particular embodiment of the invention which the drawing herein illustrates in principle, the back board was of wood about l inch thick, the stencil board was of wood about 2 inches thick, and the outside diameter of the glass tubing 2 was about 1/2 inch. The thickness of the stencil board 8 is an important feature of the present invention not only because it provides a solid, shock-absorbing protection to the glass tubing or other illuminating means which usually is fragile, but also because of its effect upon the legibility and general appearance of the sign. When the thickness of the stencil board is at least twice as great as the outside diameter of the glass tubing, the letters will be4 shielded from each other and thus there will be little or no halation effect and no interference of the light rays from the separate letters or displayed portions of the sign. The legibility of my sign having a sufficiently thick stencil board is, not only at night, but also in the daytime, and whether self-illuminated or not, such that the sign is effective over an unusually wide angle which may be as great as 150. In general, the thicker the stencil board, the better the daytime legibility.

Since the thickest portion of a letter is at a double bend-back, all portions of the neon tubing shown in Fig. 2 Were, in that embodiment, at least 1/2 inch beneath the front face of the stencil board, as at I8 of Fig. 2 where the total thickness of the tubing is about 11/2 inches. All other points along the tubing of the sign illustrated being about an inch below the surface of the stencil board, it would be preferable, although not essential, to gouge out the back board at I 8, so that all points might be one inch below the surface. One of the advantages of my construction is that such differences in the eifective thickness of the tubing at different points on the sign will have little effect on its appearance because the exposed face of the stencil board is a uniform surface and all points of the tubing are below it in a stencil cut not much larger than the tubing, and hence there is nothing by which an observer can gauge any difference in thickness, because the tubing is visible only from the front. The more important consideration in the preferred embodiment is therefore that the stencil board extend far enough above the tubing to provide a complete shield between letters.

The appearance and legibility of the sign are enhanced by applying to the back board beneath the tubing and to the inside surfaces of the stencil cuts a paint or coating which will suitably reflect the light. For example in the sign illustrated, the shading Il of the letters represents red which would result from the self-illumination of the neon tubing as well as from a red reflecting paint when the tubing is not self-illuminated. Thus, for instance, if the inside surfaces of the letters are painted red and the front face of the stencil board is painted black there results a very legible sign and one which presents the same appearance and intended effect whether self-illuminated or not. A large variety of effects may be had by coating the inside surfaces of the letters, or copy, with substances of a color different from that of the illuminating means. Phosphorescent paints may sometimes be employed to provide unusual effects.

From the foregoing descriptions of a single preferred embodiment and of illustrative modif-lcations of this invention, it will be seen that the principlesthereof may be employed in electric signs of many different forms and types ywithout departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim: f f

1. A display sign comprising a surfaced back board, a stencil vboard having a complementary surface, and illuminating means secured to the face of said back board in display configuration, cuts through said stencil board conforming to said display configuration, recesses in said stencil board to receive undisplayed portions of said illuminating means, and means solidly securing said boards together with their complementary surfaces adjoining.

2. A display sign comprising a smooth-faced back board of wood or the like, a smooth backed stencil board of wood or the like, and illuminating means of varying thickness secured to the face of said back board in display configuration, cuts through said stencil board conforming to said display configuration, recesses in the back of said stencil board of varying depth to receive undisplayed portions of said illuminating means, and means solidly securing said boards together with the face of said back board adjoining the back of said stencil board.

3. A neon tubing type display sign comprising a back board upon the face of which is secured tubing in display configuration, a stencil board at least twice as thick as said tubing and cut through to conform to said display configuration, the surfaces of the cuts in said stencil board being coated to enhance the illumination of said tubing and to produce the same color 'effect whether or not the tubing is self-illuminated, and means solidly securing said boards together.

4. A display sign of the neon tubing type comprising a back board of wood or the like upon which is secured tubing in display configuration, a stencil board cut through to conform to said display configuration and being at least as thick as said tubing, recesses in the back of said stencil board to receive undisplayed portions of said tubing, means solidly securing said boards together, a glass covering across the face of said stencil board and a frame supporting said glass and covering the joint between said boards.

5. An ambulatory vibration-proof neon display sign comprising a back board of wood or the like upon which is secured neon tubing in display configuration, a stencil board cut through l,

to conform to said display configuration and being at least twice as thick as said tubing, recesses in the back of said stencil board to receive undisplayed portions of said tubing, means solidly securing said boards together, a glass covering across the face of said stencil board, a waterproof frame supporting said glass and covering the joint between said boards, means for securing said back board to a vehicle, an electric` converter supported by said back board and connected to illuminate said neon tubing, and electric connections from said converter to a battery carried by said vehicle.

6. A display sign of the neon tubing type comprising a back board upon the face of which is secured tubing in display conguration, a stencil board at least twice as thick as said tubing and cut through to conform to said display configuration, the surfaces of the cuts in said stencil board being treated to enhance the illumination effect thereof, and means securing said boards together to form a unitary structure.

7. A display sign of the neon tubingtype, comprising a back board, tubing having displayed and undisplayed portions secured upon the face o said back board, an opaque stencil board covering the face of said back board, and means securing said boards together to form a unitary structure, said stencil board having cuts therethrough to conform to the displayed portions of said tubing, the opposite surfaces of said boards adjacent undisplayed portions of said tubing being spaced to accommodate the undisplayed portions of said tubing.

J. JAY SEGAL. 

